The trade myths revealed: who are tradespeople?

There are several well-known stereotypes that define those in the trade. Typically, these tend to be unfair such as always being late, overcharging people and whistling at women as they walk down the street. Or, some tend to be a tad more accurate. Like, enjoying a strong brew in the morning, loving a pint down the pub after work and the occasional builders bum crack making a show every now and then.

But, how many of these stereotypes are actually accurate? And how many are myths?

Well, a survey conducted by ServiceSeeking.com has recently had a look at this and tackled some of the stereotypes of tradespeople. The first one being that they are always late. Well, according to the survey, this stereotype is most definitely a myth with 56% of tradespeople reporting that they never turned up to a job late.

This was supported by additional research too in which tradespeople were found to be ditching the classic stereotypes. Instead, they’re flipping these myths on their head. Take a look at the full report here.

Of the 1,700 tradespeople surveyed, it was also found that the stereotype of tradesmen regularly downing tools for a smoke, is another myth that was busted. Instead, a massive three-quarters of workers stated that they didn’t smoke at all. Instead, only 16.6% of workers admitted that they stopped for a single cigarette a day whilst working.

Another myth that was busted in the survey was the music tradesmen listen to whilst on the job. It was, in fact, found that one in five workers actually listen to educational podcasts.

When the questions were asked to customers though, it was found that they too were willing to bust a few myths. Specifically, only 3% of customers complained about tradespeople wolf whistling at them. This shift in attitude can only be positive for the industry too as further research suggests that stereotypes hold back the industry. Take a look at the full report here.

However, these figures soon began to rise when customers were asked about the laziness of tradesmen. In fact, 11% of customers stated that tradesmen are “lazy and leave a mess”. Alongside this, a further 31.21% also felt that tradesmen “rip you off given the chance”.

So what do you think of this? What trade stereotype do you hear the most? Let us know in the comments below.